PIQUA, Ohio - May 10, 2019 - s4story -- U.S. Congressman Warren Davidson (R-OH 8) presented Isaiah Industries, the leading manufacturer of environmentally-friendly residential metal roofing systems, with the first-ever 'Spark Award' by the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA), a much- anticipated and newly created recognition honoring the accomplishments of SBA-funded small businesses that create economic growth and development.

The Piqua, Ohio-based company co-owners Todd Miller and Kelly Joseph, former college roommates, secured three rounds of SBA funding since starting the company in 1980. "We wouldn't be here today without the SBA," says Joseph. "We were able to parlay that financing into a business which has generated total sales exceeding half a billion dollars and still growing. As college students hanging out in the cornfields of Ohio, we thought we'd be running hot dog stands when we dreamed of being in business one day."

More on S For Story

• New Book - No Choice but Action: The Kansas Postpunk Revolution by Darren DeFrain and Francis Connor
• New Publication - Opinionated: Kansas Journalists Who Proved Why Commentary Matters—Then and Now
• New Brunswick Author Sean Barker Launches Find Your FIT, a 30-Minute Fitness Method for Busy Women
• Banafsheh Sayyad Hosts Dance of Oneness Book Signing with Special Guest Parviz Sayyad
• Robert Broome Brings Documentary, Video, and Screenwriting Experience under One Brand

"Since our business has unique capital needs in terms of high inventory and costly manufacturing equipment," says Miller, "traditional banks don't fully appreciate our kind of collateral, which is why SBA has always saved the day." In addition to the SBA, Miller credits this tremendous team, 25 percent of whom have been with the company for over 20 years, as well as his faith, for the success of the business.

Through strategic partnerships with dealers worldwide, the 55-person company ships and produces custom-metal roofing systems to clients across North America, as well as to Japan and the Caribbean. The 185,000 square foot company campus has multiple buildings that can produce nearly 500,000 square feet of roofing daily.

"Isaiah Industries is such a great employer because they produce a product line that's grown exponentially around the globe, while maintaining production and increasing jobs right here in Ohio, said Congressman Davidson. He also reflected on his own career and how he went from the U.S. Army to building a career in business, later starting his own business with the help of an SBA loan.

More on S For Story

• DBF Viewer 2000 v9.32 Adds New Control for Data Export
• Badanamu Partners With Moonbug Entertainment In Landmark Distribution Deal
• Nutriband (N A S D A Q: NTRB): Fighting Back Against the Fentanyl Crisis With a New Approach to Safer Transdermal Medicines
• It's Launch Day: Nat Ajuba's Synth Pulse Is Out, and Yes, the Cover Has a Potato
• Oral statement on the situation of Chairman Lee Man-hee in pretrial detention in the Republic of Korea

Other local officials in attendance included Miami County Commissioner Jack Evans; Piqua Mayor Kazy Hinds; Piqua Community and Economic Development Director Chris Schmeising; and Piqua Area Chamber of Commerce President Kathy Sherman.

About the U.S. Small Business Administration: As the only go-to resource and voice for small businesses backed by the strength of the federal government, the SBA empowers entrepreneurs and small business owners with the resources and support they need to start, grow or expand their businesses, or recover from a declared disaster. To learn more, visit www.sba.gov.